


Graffitiing Our Hearts

by penstrikesmidnight



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Chance Meetings, Feelings Realization, Graffiti, M/M, Manga Spoilers if you squint, Nostalgia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:48:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25318594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penstrikesmidnight/pseuds/penstrikesmidnight
Summary: Recently back in town, Oikawa remembers the time he and Iwaizumi snuck out the night before he left Japan to graffiti themselves into immortality. Then, fate brings them back together.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 17
Kudos: 34





	Graffitiing Our Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> Written for day two of Oikawa Week! Catwalks & extreme clothes/ **Revelations**
> 
> Title and the whole fic inspired by the song Graffiti by Chvrches. I recommend taking a listen! Enjoy!

Oikawa doesn't know why he came here. Doesn't know what he hoped to see, or prove to himself.

He's been home for two weeks. Two weeks of adjusting back to life here in Japan. Two weeks of connecting with old teammates and new. Two weeks of not thinking about the Iwaizumi house three doors down or counting down the days until he goes to Tokyo next month. Two weeks of trying not to think about how his life feels like it's slowly splintering away from him, leaving him bereft and restless.

The park looks the same as it always does at night, three orange streetlights illuminating the playground and, off to the left, a lone cinder block building with one light on either side that should be locked for the evening, but isn't.

He makes his way there, holding his breath as he presses on the door. It swings open silently. The bright lights flip on with the movement of the door, causing Oikawa to stand, blinking, in the new light.

It looks the same as before; that is, barely used. The tile is cracked but clean, the odor aggressively nonexistent. Oikawa bites his lip, suddenly nervous. He feels like a teenager all over again, sneaking in to tattoo his feelings across the walls by Iwaizumi's request.

_Iwaizumi._ Oikawa runs his fingers across the screen of his phone before pocketing it. It has been a long time since he's talked to Iwaizumi. Oikawa doesn't even know what he's doing anymore. He takes a deep breath, settles his emotions, and walks toward the last stall in the bathroom.

His eyes immediately find his and Iwaizumi's names when he opens the door, both of the marks they had left a lifetime ago still there. The ink is faded, other names crowding around, newer and more cared for, but among the noise their names are still clearly readable, thanks to Iwaizumi's heavy-duty markers. They are immortal there, on that wall, the beginning of a journey that took them so far away from each other. Oikawa wishes he was a teenager again, ready to jump into the unknown of life, and relationships, and love. Instead he's standing here, drowning in that same uncertainty he had been so eager to swim in before.

"I couldn't believe it either," a familiar voice says, and Oikawa whirls around.

Iwaizumi stands, hands shoved in the pockets of a dark hoodie, leaning against the entrance to the bathroom. He looks the same as he did that night, four years ago. He is so different. Oikawa is struck speechless. "How...Why...Iwa-chan..."

"Hey Tooru," he says with a grin. Oikawa swallows. He closes his eyes. He remembers.

* * *

Oikawa rubs his hands down his legs before pressing on his phone screen. There are no new notifications. He lets his breath out, pacing away from his desk. He doesn't know why he is so nervous. It's just Iwa-chan. It's just their last night together.

Okay, maybe he knows why he's nervous.

Before he completes a circuit of his room, his phone vibrates, loud in the stifling silence. _Outside_.

Oikawa stuffs his phone in his pocket, his heart beating fast in anticipation. He doesn't sneak out often, but every time he does he feels a rush of adrenaline that makes him heady. It's almost too much, adding Iwaizumi to the mix.

Iwaizumi is standing at the corner of Oikawa's house, leaning against the wall, one leg crossed over the other. He has on black jeans and a dark hoodie, hands stuffed into the pockets. He looks so beautiful.

Oikawa slinks up to Iwaizumi, watches as Iwaizumi's eyes trail up his body appreciably. There's something about the time after midnight, before the sun rises, where everything is lucid and electric and bright, inhibitions loosening. They have been balancing on the brink of something much more for so long. But what can they do with one night?

"Ready?" Iwaizumi asks, his voice quiet.

Oikawa doesn't think he has ever been more ready for anything in his life.

"Where are we going, Iwa-chan?" Oikawa asks, his voice breathless.

Iwaizumi just smiles, a small secretive thing Oikawa wishes he could cup in his hands and place in his pocket. "C'mon, I wanna show you something," Iwaizumi answers, taking Oikawa's hand in his. Oikawa's heart flutters at the warmth of his palm, at the way his callouses feel rough against Oikawa's skin. Oikawa thought he knew Iwaizumi's hands, but with one pressed against his, he realizes there is so much he doesn't know. He trusts Iwaizumi, and so he follows him without asking again, the weight of Iwaizumi's hand in his enough.

They make their way across the street, down the block, toward the old park they used to have play dates at as children. Oikawa raises his eyebrows when Iwaizumi turns to him. "Are you becoming sentimental, Iwa-chan?"

Iwaizumi takes a step toward him. Oikawa holds his breath at their closeness. _I've wanted this for so long..._

"Listen. The bathroom here has a stall that has become a place where people come and tag dumb shit. Mostly confessions and undying love. They stopped repainting over it a few years ago because people kept writing over the new paint. I thought maybe you'd be into that. If not to confess anything, to immortalize yourself here before leaving."

Oikawa's breath hitches. _Confessions. Undying love_. Immortalization.

Iwaizumi chuckles softly. Oikawa freezes when he feels Iwaizumi's finger trail across his cheekbone, tucking a stray piece of hair away from his face. His other hand hasn't let go of Oikawa's. "I thought so."

Oikawa is floating as he follows Iwaizumi down the slope to the lone building. Everything looks so different by the light of the moon and city lights. Sparkling. Magical.

Maybe it's Oikawa that feels different.

The door is silent as Iwaizumi pushes it open, the lights flashing on automatically. Oikawa holds his breath, waiting for the usual stench of a public area, but it's surprisingly odorless. Iwaizumi pulls a bundle of markers-- _really expensive, permanent markers_ \--out of his pocket. "Do you have a preference? I think the gray will look good on the peach wall."

"Who did you say told you about this?" Oikawa asks as Iwaizumi gestures with his head to the last stall with a shrug and that conspiratorial grin Oikawa is still getting used to. Oikawa opens the stall door, eyes widening.

There are so many names and colors. It's a beautiful collage of emotions, captured and frozen for anyone to admire. Oikawa swallows, his feelings suddenly cresting in his chest.

The heat of Iwaizumi's body curls around his own, and Oikawa feels the press of Iwaizumi's shoulder on his. "It's pretty awesome, huh? Graffiti is so visceral. The true heartbeat of a city. Spray paint is the real fun shit, but markers are good too."

Oikawa watches in awe as Iwaizumi uncaps the marker with his teeth, leaving the cap in his mouth so as not to let go of Oikawa's hand. Oikawa is fascinated with the blocked letters Iwaizumi leaves. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you do this often."

Iwaizumi raises his eyebrows, offering the marker to Oikawa once he's done. Oikawa takes it, breaking their hands apart. He sees something that looks like IwaxOi in English lettering and his heart does that same flip it did when Iwaizumi took his hand. Iwaizumi takes the marker cap out of his mouth. "Who says I don't?"

Oikawa feels his eyes widen. "Iwaizumi Hajime, tell me you do not deface public property with spray paint!"

Iwaizumi's grin is enough to tell Oikawa exactly what he doesn't want to hear. "Are you gonna write something or what?"

Oikawa turns back to the wall, his fears suddenly back full force. His eyes scan the names and shapes and colors, all of them ingrained in this stall for everyone and no one to see. He glances at Iwaizumi's simple IwaxOi, swallows, and presses the silver marker tip to the faded peach wall. _Always partners. Oikawa+Iwaizumi_

Everyone always compliments Oikawa on his perfect handwriting, but next to Iwaizumi's blocky tag, it looks insignificant and normal, just a scattering of kanji among a sea of other names. Oikawa turns away, biting his lip. He feels exposed, as if he has just peeled his skin away from his heart and offered it to Iwaizumi. Before he can turn away, Iwaizumi takes Oikawa's hand in his, the one with the marker still clenched in his grip. Oikawa glances up, surprised for the thousandth time that night. Iwaizumi grins.

"It's perfect," he says, and Oikawa feels Iwaizumi's breath along his cheek as he presses close to Oikawa's back again, lifting his pliant hand and drawing a geometric heart around the words Oikawa had put on the wall.

It's too much. Iwaizumi standing so close, their hands entwined around a marker graffitiing their hearts on this tiny bathroom stall for anyone to just walk in and see. Oikawa turns in Iwaizumi's grip, breaking his hold to wrap his arms around Iwaizumi's neck. In the fluorescent lights, Iwaizumi looks pastel soft, his green eyes smiling and bright and god, Oikawa is so in love with him.

He doesn't know who kisses who first, but Oikawa's back is pressed against the wall and everything is _Iwa-chan, Iwa-chan, Iwa-chan_. Oikawa's hands find Iwaizumi's hair, and Iwaizumi's hands tighten on Oikawa's waist.

The kiss deepens. Oikawa is drowning in Iwaizumi, feeling Iwaizumi's familiar, hard body lined up against his the way he's always been too afraid to ask for before. But now, in this strange bubble where time doesn't seem to exist, they take the leap. They shouldn't do this. They should have done this so long ago.

He feels Iwaizumi's hand drop to the curve of his thigh and Oikawa lifts his legs, wrapping them around Iwaizumi's waist, his back pressed against the stall door. Iwaizumi grips his right thigh tightly, his other arm wrapped firmly around Oikawa's back. Oikawa trusts Iwaizumi to hold him up. He always has.

After an eternity, they break away. Oikawa leans his head back, takes shuddering breaths, trying not to seem too affected by what they had just done. Iwaizumi leans his forehead against the stall, and Oikawa pets his fingers through the hair on Iwaizumi's neck.

"I love you," Iwaizumi says, raising his head to meet Oikawa's eyes. "Tooru, I love you, no matter where you go and what you do after this. We might never have another moment like this but..."

Iwaizumi swallows. Oikawa reaches up, brushing his thumb along Iwaizumi's cheekbone to collect the stray silver tear on his face that matches the ink of the pen they had used just moments before. "I love you too," Oikawa whispers, kissing Iwaizumi softly, one last time, before dropping his legs to stand on his own again.

"What do you think about the tag?" Iwaizumi asks after a few seconds. Oikawa lifts his eyes to where their names are merged together, then back to Iwaizumi, noticing the way he's looked away, as if embarrassed to hear what Oikawa is going to say.

Instead of telling Iwaizumi how much he likes the way he's made the _I_ look like a pillar, or how he loves that the _x_ blends seamlessly into the _O_ , Oikawa says, "It's like one of those famous couple names. IwaOi. I like it."

Iwaizumi laughs, burying his face in Oikawa's neck. "God. I'm going to miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too," Oikawa whispers back.

* * *

"What happened to us?" Oikawa asks.

They're sitting on a bench in the park. Neither much care that they could get caught. For the longest time, Oikawa wanted to be independent, his own person. Now, he is tangled in his memories, bittersweet and biting and inescapable with Iwaizumi right here next to him.

Iwaizumi shrugs. He has his arm along the back of the bench, and Oikawa can feel it when he presses back just so. "Time, I guess," Iwaizumi says. "Maturity."

Oikawa glances over at Iwaizumi, surprised to see him staring back. Oikawa swallows, his eyes dipping down to Iwaizumi's lips for the briefest moment. "You look good," Iwaizumi says, his voice low.

"So do you," Oikawa whispers, and just like before, he's not sure who starts the kiss, but the important thing is that it is happening. Oikawa presses his fingers to Iwaizumi's cheek, feels Iwaizumi's arm wrap around his waist, firm, holding Oikawa up as he falls apart.

When they break away, Oikawa feels all those pieces of himself that have slowly drifted away snap together. Not whole, but not completely broken anymore. He swallows, tries to control his breathing. He feels Iwaizumi's hand cup his cheek, his thumb running along his cheekbone, collecting the stubborn tear that had escaped from Tooru's eye. "I still love you," Iwaizumi says.

"Even though I stopped calling?" Oikawa whispers, afraid his voice will crack and bleed if he's any louder.

"Even then," Iwaizumi says, kissing him softly, one last time, before breaking away. "Communication goes both ways, you know."

Oikawa and Iwaizumi sit there, curled around each other as if they're kids again and not twenty-three year olds with real lives in separate parts of the world. "Do you still deface public property?" Oikawa asks finally, and Iwaizumi throws his head back and laughs.

"Every once in awhile. Wanna see some pictures?"

Oikawa puts his legs over Iwaizumi's, leans in close to look at the pictures he pulls up on his phone. Oikawa's breath catches as Iwaizumi scrolls. Most are just simple geometric shapes, and Oikawa catches a motif of birds and plants that Iwaizumi seems to always come back to. In each one, there's the small IwaxOi tag.

"I wanna see them," Oikawa whispers, grasping onto Iwaizumi's forearm. "Really see them."

Iwaizumi chuckles. "Most of them have been painted over, especially the ones in Orange County, but there are a few still up in Los Angeles. If...If you want to visit LA sometime?"

"When do you leave?" Oikawa asks.

Iwaizumi bites his lip. Oikawa can't help but reach up, placing his hand on Iwaizumi's neck. He feels Iwaizumi's pulse, rushed but steady. "Tomorrow."

Oikawa nods, his own heart syncing to match what he feels under his hand. "I have three more weeks until I'm supposed to be in Tokyo for training. Let's make it count, okay?"

The smile Iwaizumi gives Tooru is brilliant. He leans his forehead against Tooru's and says, like a secret, "Sounds like a great plan."

**Author's Note:**

> Look, playing with the IwaOi ship name made me absolutely giddy. Also, I may or may not be mildly obsessed with Graffiti Artist Iwa-chan now.
> 
> Thanks for reading! As always comments/kudos welcome!
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/pensmidnight)  
> [tumblr](https://twirlergirl1206.tumblr.com/)


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